System and method for computer-created advertisements

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a computerized method for a user to create an advertisement by displaying a plurality of advertising formats for selection by a user; displaying a template corresponding to a selected advertising format; displaying a plurality of product references for selection by the user; displaying on the template a selected product reference to create a proposed advertisement; and creating a preview of the proposed advertisement, all of which may be implemented using the Internet. The invention further relates to a computerized system for creating an advertisement that comprises a template database for storing advertising formats; a product database for storing product references; and a computer to access the databases. Preferably, the user has a network interface such as Internet access that permits access via a remote location, software to permit a user to specify specifications such as quantity, printing information, ship date, paper type, pricing information, and payment information, and may be configured to receive images and text for new products.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/690,455 filed Oct. 22, 2003, now abandoned entitled “SystemAnd Method For Computer-Created Advertisements”, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/887,526,filed Jun. 25, 2001, entitled “System And Method For Computer-CreatedAdvertisements”, which claims priority to U.S. provisional applicationSer. No. 60/213,484, filed Jun. 23, 2000, entitled “Internet AdvertisingDesign Build Model”, all of which are hereby specifically and entirelyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to business models, methods and systems forgenerating advertising materials useful for all forms of advertisement.More particularly, this invention relates to computerized systems andmethods for creating advertisements.

2. Description of the Background

Conventional business methods for creating advertising require thatwritten materials and other documentation be provided by a customer(which we will refer to herein as the user) to third party graphicartists who design the layout. The customer must wait to receive ahard-copy proof from the artists, and then, after reviewing and revisingthe proof, resend the proof to the artists for redesign. When the proofis finally approved, the information must be delivered to a commercialprinter to produce the advertisements in their final form. At each stageof the process, there can be substantial delays. After one or moreredesigns, the customer must wait for a final proof and then, onceapproved, wait for the final product to be produced.

The conventional process is time consuming and inefficient, and can alsobe very expensive relative to the cost of services that can be providedby the present invention. For example, a customer must employ theservices of a graphic artist, which can add significant cost to theprocess. Moreover, the inclusion of a graphic artist into the processrequires additional time and communications between the artist and thecustomer. Each time the work-in-process is transferred between parties(for example, from the graphic artist to the customer, from the customerto the graphic artist, and from the graphic artist to the printer), thework-in-process must enter the queue of the recipient, which may adduncontrollable delays, not to mention the time associated with thelogistics of transferring materials. Accordingly, there is a need for animproved system that is less time consuming and less costly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods and systems for creatingadvertisements. The present invention uses computers and software tocreate efficiencies in designing and printing advertisements. Thepresent invention also contemplates the use of the Internet tostreamline the processes.

Disclosed herein is a computerized method for a user to create anadvertisement, comprising the steps: displaying on a computer aplurality of advertising formats for selection by the user; displayingon the computer, in response to selection by the user, a template thatcorresponds to a selected one or more of the plurality of advertisingformats; displaying on the computer a plurality of product referencesfor selection by the user; displaying on the template at least oneselected product reference to create a proposed advertisement; andcreating a preview of the proposed advertisement. The method may alsoinvolve submitting specifications to a remote site and printingadvertisements in accordance with the specifications. Remote sites arepreferably commercial printers, but may also be printers in anotheroffice, at another location or in a different country.

Also disclosed is an Internet-based method for a user to create anadvertisement, comprising the steps: accessing a web site through acomputer; displaying on the computer a plurality of advertising formatsfor selection by the user; displaying on the computer, in response toselection by the user, a template that corresponds to a selected one ormore of the plurality of advertising formats; displaying on the computera plurality of product references for selection by the user; displayingon the template at least one selected product reference to create aproposed advertisement; submitting to a remote site, via the internet,electronic files of the proposed advertisement, specifications for theproposed advertisement, the specifications including at least one of aquantity, a paper size, printing specifications, drop shippinginformation, and a payment method; creating, at the remote site, apreview of the proposed advertisement which may be a hard-copy proof oran electronic or other preview; making the preview available to the userfor review; and printing, in accordance with set printingspecifications, advertisements that correspond to the proposedadvertisements. The method may also provide the user with the ability toenter information concerning custom product references, such that thecustom product references may be displayed on the template along withproduct references selected from the displayed plurality of productreferences.

A computerized system for creating an advertisement is also disclosed.The system comprises: a template database for storing a plurality ofadvertising formats; a product database for storing a plurality ofproduct references; a computer that has access to the template databaseand the product database. The computer accesses software that is capableof incorporating: a template selector for selecting at least onetemplate from the template database; a product selector for selecting atleast one product reference from the product database, each of the atleast one product reference including at least one of an image and text;and a design interface for controlling the placement of a selectedproduct reference on a selected template in order to create a proposedadvertisement. The computer may also have a network interface (such asan interface to the Internet) that permits access to the software on thecomputer via a remote location so that a user may access the software onthe computer in order to create a proposed advertisement. The computermay also include software to create a specifications interface forinputting specifications (for example, quantity, printing information,shipping information and destination, pricing information, paper type,and payment information) for the advertisement.

Also disclosed is a computerized system for creating an advertisement,comprising: a template database for storing a plurality of advertisingformats; a product database for storing a plurality of productreferences; and a computer that has access to the template database andthe product database. The computer accesses software that is capable ofincorporating: a template selector for selecting at least one templatefrom the template database; a product input interface for adding newproduct references to the template database; a product selector forselecting at least one product reference from the product database, eachof the at least one product reference including at least one of an imageand/or text; and a design interface for controlling the placement of aselected product reference on a selected template in order to create aproposed advertisement. The computer is also configured to include anetwork interface that permits access to the computer via a computernetwork connection such as, for example, an Internet or otherbroadband-based connection, a modem, a networked computer, orcombinations thereof so that a user may access the computer to create aproposed advertisement. The system may also include an input forreceiving an image (for example, from a digital camera) and textualinformation concerning new products, and a data marker for linking thedigital data and the image.

An Internet-based method for a user to create an advertisement is alsodisclosed. The method comprises: accessing a web site through acomputer, the web site being hosted on a host computer, and the hostcomputer having access to a first database of advertising formats and asecond database of product references; accessing the first database toidentify a plurality of advertising formats; displaying on the computerthe plurality of advertising formats for selection by the user;displaying on the computer, in response to selection by the user, atemplate that corresponds to a selected one or more of the plurality ofadvertising formats; accessing the second database to identify aplurality of product references; displaying on the computer theplurality of product references for selection by the user; displaying onthe template at least one selected product reference to create aproposed advertisement; submitting to a remote site, via the Internet,electronic files of the proposed advertisement, specifications for theproposed advertisement, the specifications, file name, user information,and final files that constitute the proposed advertisement including atleast one of a quantity, printing specifications, a ship date, a papertype, and a payment method; creating, at the remote site, a preview ofthe proposed advertisement (e.g. hard-copy proof, electronic preview,printer's proof, the final file of the proposed advertisement); andprinting, in accordance with the printing specifications, shipping anddestination information, pricing and payment information, advertisementsthat correspond to the proposed advertisements. The method may alsoinvolve displaying on the computer a menu such as, for example, adrop-down or pop-up menu, that permits new custom product references tobe entered into the second database.

Also disclosed are a method and system whereby a user operates acomputer to create an advertisement. This method comprises the steps:selecting an advertising format from a plurality of advertising formats;displaying a template that corresponds to a selected advertising format,which template includes a plurality of advertising areas; selecting aproduct reference, which product reference comprises at least one of animage and text; and importing the selected product reference onto anadvertising area to create an advertisement. Preferably, the advertisingarea is configured to automatically format the selected productreference to fit within physical dimensions of the advertising area.

A method and system for creating an advertisement are also disclosed.This method comprises: selecting an advertising format; displaying atemplate that corresponds to a selected advertising format, whichtemplate includes a plurality of advertising areas; selecting aplurality of product references; specifying a rule of priority forlaying out the plurality of product references onto the plurality ofadvertising areas; and generating an advertisement whereby the pluralityof product references are placed onto the plurality of advertising areasin accordance with the rule of priority.

The present invention overcomes the problems and disadvantagesassociated with conventional methods and systems including electronicsystems, and provides new business methods and systems whereby a usercan access host computer or server (for example, by way of a web site onthe Internet), and quickly and efficiently create customized advertisingmaterials.

The system provides a co-op calculation feature that allows users toenter advertising expenses into the system. This provides for instantand convenient reporting and tracking of advertising information andallows users to more quickly calculate co-op requests which, in turn,allows users to more quickly submit co-op requests to manufacturerswhich, in turn, allows users to more quickly receive reimbursement. Thisalso provides an advertising tracking tool which allows the user to viewadvertising activity by dealer, region or at large, determine whichproducts or manufacturers are being advertised, track sales vs.advertising expenditures, compare advertising productivity annually, andtrack other desired cycles, trends, and facts. The co-op calculationfeature calculates the space allotted to each product advertised,divides the total expense by the space for each product, and thenapplies a co-op amount, optionally 50% of the total cost per ad area.The co-op calculation feature may also be used to generate a variety ofreports, which can be customized for a client. The reports generated mayinclude, for example, a general report of all products advertised in anygiven ad, and individual reports for each product.

The system also provides for uploading a standard, formatted databasefor each user. This allows the user to easily manage the database; theuser can add, delete, or modify entries in the database. In addition,demographic information may be provided for an entry. Examples of suchdemographic information are buying habits, customer information, productpreferences, zip code, area code, etc. The database can then be sortedby the desired demographic information to generate a target list. Thislist may then be sent along with, sent separately from, sent as anattachment to, and/or embedded within an advertisement which is sent toa remote printer of the user or even to a printing company or mailingservice, which list can then produce labels for direct mailing purposesfor the advertisement. The list may also be downloaded to or by the userso that the list may be formatted by the user for printing labels on alocal printer. The database may also be downloaded by the user at anytime for other purposes, such as consolidation of information into theuser's management system.

The system also provides for support of images, including text, logos,etc., with transparent backgrounds; this improves the aesthetics of theadvertisements and allows for a more finished appearance, i.e., a moreretail look. More particularly, the system allows the user to placeimages anywhere on a page, with the colored background of the adsurrounding the image, so that the user is no longer constrained toplace an image into a white box. The system also allows the user tooverlap ad elements and to create layers and dynamically direct theplacement of ad elements anywhere in the ad.

These features may be used, or not, as desired for any particular job.

Other embodiments and advantages of the invention are set forth in partin the description which follows, and in part, will be obvious from thisdescription, or may be learned from the practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a general purpose computer system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic of one embodiment of one configuration ofthe invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic of one embodiment of one process of theinvention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a template for selection of a product by vendor,brand or category.

FIG. 5 illustrates available product reference options for theparticular vendor selected from FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 illustrates available product reference options for theparticular product selected from FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 illustrates incorporation of the product reference selected fromFIG. 6 into the final advertisement.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate the steps of the co-op calculation feature.

FIG. 9 illustrates the process of customizing an advertisement.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A technical advantage of the present invention is that it may be used tosignificantly reduce the amount of time involved in preparingadvertisements. The amount of time reduction is surprising. As a resultof the time reductions realized, materials can be submitted weeks inadvance—instead of months (which was previously the norm for someusers). In some cases, advertising materials can be created in a matterof hours (and possibly minutes in the cases of one page advertisements).

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that it may beused to significantly reduce the cost involved in preparingadvertisements. The cost savings is surprising.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems permit a user to create high quality advertisement materialswithout the services of a graphic artist, thereby realizing unexpectedsavings in time and expense.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems permit a user to direct the electronic transfer of a finalor non-final advertising file to a commercial printer (which can belocal, within the same city, or distant, outside the country) or otherdestination such as, for example, a desk top printer, an e-mail account,a website, or a facility for further processing.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems permit a user to eliminate the time associated with certainqueues (e.g., the queue of the graphic artist who designs a layout foran ad), thereby realizing unexpected savings in time.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems permit a user to print its own advertisements, which willresult in greater control over printing costs and timing. Printing “inhouse” also eliminates the delay of queues that may exist when projectsare delivered to a commercial printer.

Another benefit of the present invention is that it allows users toreact quickly to changing market conditions, thereby enhancing theability of the user to influence sales and profits.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems are easily used, and the databases are easily updated.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems are easily customized to provide a unique look for eachuser, and to provide uniformity from advertisement to advertisement,thereby, helping a user to create branding among its trademarks.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems provide cost-effective advertisement services, well belowthe rates charged by professional designers.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that, if usedby, for example, a corporation which provides the software to itsdistribution network, the corporation has greater control over creativetreatments and branding while still allowing users to locally customizecontent for custom messages.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems permit a user to maintain up-to-date product databases inorder to facilitate the creation of accurate and current advertisements.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems facilitate the provision of services to users who desire tohave another person or entity create and maintain user productdatabases.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems permit flexibility in the creation of advertisements, in thesense that advertisements may be created using any number of colors, aswell as in black and white.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems are easily used, and the databases are easily updated.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems can be easily updated through software upgrades to includethe latest fashions in advertisement design services.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems are modified to provide links to other web pages so that thelatest information concerning new and existing products can beintegrated into the databases of the present system, as well as toprovide access to others so that they can obtain the latest informationabout a user's products and services.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems permit a service provider (one who operates the presentinvention) to calculate and prepare a co-op report for each user.Moreover, the software associated with the method and systems of thepresent system permit a service provider to process orders and arrangepayment to a printer on behalf of a user.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems permit a user to rapidly create high quality advertisementmaterials.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the methodand systems permit the use of the Internet as a platform for thedevelopment and product of new advertising materials, thereby providinga fast and technologically sophisticated method for creatingadvertising. The system of the invention permits even a novice to easilycreate sophisticated advertisements.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention and its advantages arebest understood by referring to FIGS. 1 through 7 of the drawings, likenumerals being used for like and corresponding parts of the variousdrawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, a general purpose computer for use with the presentinvention is provided. Processor 102 has input/output section 104,central processing unit 106, and memory section 108. Input/outputsection 104 may be connected to keyboard 110, display unit 112, diskstorage unit 114, and CD-ROM drive unit 116. CD-ROM unit 116 can read aCD-ROM medium 118, which typically contains programs and data 120. Inone embodiment, the general purpose computer may lack some or all of thefeatures described above. For example, the general purpose computer mayoperate as a terminal, an emulator, etc. with network access.

The present invention is directed to a system for computer-createdadvertisements. Referring to FIG. 2, a system according to oneembodiment of the present invention is provided. The system may includea plurality of network access devices 202, such as the general purposecomputer described in FIG. 1, may be used. In one embodiment, networkaccess devices 202 may include wireless devices, including wirelessPersonal Digital Assistants (“PDAs”) (e.g., Palm™ VII, Research inMotion's Blackberry™), wireless web-enabled phones, pagers, etc.

Network access device 202 may interface with at least one network 250.Network 250 may include the Internet, one or more Local Area Networks(“LANs”), one or more Metropolitan Area Networks (“MANs”), one or moreWide Area Networks (“WANs”), one or more Intranet, etc. An interfacebetween network access device 202 and network 250 may be provided as isknown in the art. By way of example, and without limitation, theinterface may be provided by unshielded twisted pair wiring, such asCAT-5, coaxial cable, telephone lines, fiber optic cables, or any othersuitable communication medium. In one embodiment, network access devices202 may interface with network 250 via a wireless interface.

Server 210 may support the software used in conjunction with the presentinvention. In one embodiment, server 210 may access product database 212and template database 214, which will be discussed in greater detailbelow. Server 210 may access network 250 in a manner as described above.

In one embodiment, printer 220 may be provided. Printer 220 may produceelectronic or hard copies of the advertisement, as will be discussed ingreater detail below. Printer 220 may access network 250 in a manner asdescribed above. Printer 220 may also be a remote printing facility.

In another embodiment, the final electronic advertisement may be postedto a website, e-mailed electronically, attached to or placed withinother electronic files, etc.

In another embodiment of the present invention, and referring to FIG. 3,a method for computer-created advertisements according to one embodimentof the present invention is provided. In step 302, advertising formatsare displayed for the user. In step 304, the user selects an advertisingformat to use. In step 306, at least one template corresponding to theselected advertising format may be displayed. In step 308, at least oneproduct reference is displayed for the user. The product reference(s)displayed may be based upon a user search for a product reference. Instep 310, the user selects at least one product reference. In step 312,the selected product reference may be displayed on the template. In step314, a preview of the advertisement may be created for the user. In step316, the user may review the preview, and, if satisfactory, mayauthorize the production of the advertisement. In step 318, theadvertisement may be produced, in an electronic format, in a printedformat, etc.

Sample screenshots that correspond to steps in the method of FIG. 3 areprovided as FIGS. 4-7. A detailed discussion of the method of FIG. 3will be provided, below.

In a preferred embodiment of the present inventions, the systems andmethods utilize a program that is template-based and includes a databaseof products offered by a user. The template and its “look” arepreferably controlled by the company manufacturing or supplying theproducts to permit the user to create a consistent and desirable publicimage, while simultaneously allowing the user flexibility in specifyingthe content of its advertisements. Predetermined descriptions, graphics,logos, images and associated items may be stored in a database for easeof navigation, but the flexibility of inserting a custom price anddescription for the various products may also be provided to the user.Preferably, the program may be customized for each user to give theuser's advertisements a distinctive design and functionality.

In another preferred embodiment, a user may specify the number of pagesto be included in an advertisement, as well as certain printingspecifications. For example, a user may specify a delivery method for anadvertisement (e.g., direct mailing to potential users), a quantity, apaper size, drop shipping information, and other like printinginformation. By way of example, after completing the design of anadvertisement, a user may cause the service provider's server to deliverinformation files electronically to a printer for printing anddistribution.

In another preferred embodiment, a user may specify the electronicdelivery of a final or non-final advertisement to a target audience viae-mail or by posting it on one or more websites. This enables a user toproduce both printed and electronic advertisements through the systemsand methods of the invention.

The invention reduces the development time from months to weeks, (and insome cases, days, hours, or even minutes), thereby substantiallyincreasing efficiency and reducing time to develop a finaladvertisement. The present inventions permits the designing advertising,printing and delivering of a final product to a target audience in arapid, cost-effective manner.

The present invention is also directed to a software program developedto significantly reduce the time and frustration associated with currentmethods of developing a newspaper advertisement. This Internet basedprogram allows a user (e.g., a store owner) to access a web site throughthe click of an icon, to select a template, a number of pages, and otherinformation, and to point and click through a systematic method ofcircular development. Upon login, the store owner is preferablypresented with updates and messages about new vendors, special sales ornew additions to the program. Through a library of suppliers categorizedby vendor, store department, SKU and product description, a store ownermay select products that are desired to be advertised. The store ownermay place the selected products into pre-designed templates, and mayalso take advantage of predetermined company advertisements. The adspreferably have sufficient flexibility to permit creativity, and yetsufficient standardization to keep the process easy. Upon completion ofthe design process to create an advertisement, a store owner may dictateprint or display specifications to specify, for example, quantity,destination, pricing, drop ship and/or payment information. Preferably,the present invention is accompanied by help menus to assist the user indesigning an advertisement. Preferably, the advertisement may beelectronically transmitted to a professional printer for processing,printing and delivery. Upon receipt of the file, the professionalprinter may generate a preview (e.g. printer's proof or other hard-copy,electronic preview), which preview may be transmitted to the store owner(by way of facsimile, electronic mail, or courier) along with finalpricing and a production confirmation.

The commercial printer may also provide a co-op claim calculationsreport. Turnkey co-op claim filing and processing may also be provided.Preferably, the program library (i.e., the database) of suppliers isupdated regularly in order to reflect current available products and/orinventory.

The present invention requires a computer. Preferably, the computerincludes a modem (e.g. dial-up connections such 14.4, 28.8 or 56K modem,DSL, cable), more preferably high speed, or other access interface (e.g.a T1 or T3 connection, satellite) to permit high speed access to aserver. Preferably, the computer includes software to permit rapid andreliable access to the Internet, preferably the user has an account withan Internet access provider. In setting up an Internet connection, itmay be desirable to utilize cache to keep local copies of frequentlyaccessed pages, and thus reduce the demands on bandwidth to the network.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a user utilizes an Internetconnection in order to access a web site on a host computer. The website may, for example, be maintained and hosted by a commercial printer,a supplier, or an Internet Service Provider. The web site, whenaccessed, may request a user to log into the site by entering a usernameand password.

Generally, a user will specify the advertising format that is desired.Preferably, the user selects an advertising format from a plurality ofadvertising formats displayed on the computer screen. More preferably,the user selects from a pull down menu of advertising formats. Anadvertising format establishes the type of advertisement that isdesired. Examples include circulars that are distributed by hand topotential users, newspaper inserts that are distributed as part of anewspaper, direct mail advertisements that are mailed directly topotential users, newsletters that are distributed to existing clients inorder to keep them informed, and banners. Advertising materials that maybe generated using the present invention are not limited to theseexamples, but may include any kind of print, digital, electronic orother form of advertisement, including, but not limited to, post cards,price cards, shelf-talkers, posters, signage, flyers, run-of-press (ROP)or other newspaper ads, billboards, presentations, brochures, collateralmaterials, letterhead, business cards, pocket folders, displaymaterials, reports, and other types of advertisements, literature, andprinted materials.

When the user selects an advertising format such as, for example, anewsletter, the present invention will provide the user an opportunityto prepare a custom newsletter. Preferably, the user will have theopportunity to specify the number of pages in the newsletter, as well asto include a table of contents, product photos, and descriptive text. Inone embodiment, the present invention may present the user with aplurality of options from which the user may choose (e.g., 2 pages vs. 4pages, double-sided vs. single-sided). Upon completion of the designphase, the newsletter may be processed and electronically transferred toa commercial printer for printing. The commercial printer may print theadvertisement, providing the user with hard copies that may bedistributed directly to existing customers as well as potentialcustomers of the user. Alternatively, the user may duplicate the printsusing the user's own facilities, thereby achieving further savings intime and money. Yet another alternative is for the commercial printer toprocess the advertisement after receiving the electronic files.

When the user selects a newspaper ad as an advertising format, thepresent invention will provide the user an opportunity to prepare acustom newspaper ad. Preferably, the user will have the opportunity tospecify the size of the advertisement (e.g., full page, half page,quarter page, etc.), as well as to include product photos, pricinginformation (e.g. price, discount, sale, rate, coupon, etc.) and otherdescriptive text. Upon completion of the design phase, the ad ispreferably transferred electronically to a newspaper company forinclusion in a newspaper. Alternatively, the ad may be transferredelectronically for processing at a commercial printer, and thentransferred electronically to a newspaper company for publication.

When the user selects a circular as an advertising format, the presentinvention will provide the user an opportunity to prepare a customcircular. Preferably, the user will have the opportunity to specify thenumber of pages in the circular, as well as to include product photos,pricing information and other descriptive text. In one embodiment, thepresent invention may present the user with a plurality of options fromwhich the user may choose (e.g., 4 pages vs. 8 pages). Upon completionof the design phase, the circular is preferably transferredelectronically for processing and printing at a commercial printer. Thecommercial printer may process and print the circular, and thereafter,provide hard copies, if desired, to a plurality of distribution points,including newspaper companies, direct mail facilities, and/or retaillocations. Alternatively, the ad may be transferred electronically forprocessing at a commercial printer, and then transferred electronicallyto a newspaper company for publication.

Once an advertising format has been selected, a user may select atemplate that corresponds to the selected advertising format. In oneembodiment, the present invention will provide a one-to-onecorrespondence between available advertising formats and templates. Itis recognized and understood, however, that a selected advertisingformat may have a plurality of templates that correspond to the selectedformat. Moreover, different advertising formats may share one or moretemplates. In the case of a one-to-one correspondence, the selection ofan advertising format may pre-ordain the selection of a template.

Preferably, after selecting an advertising format, the user will beprovided by the present invention with an opportunity to select one of aplurality of templates that correspond to a selected advertising format.For example, if a circular is chosen as an advertising format, the usermay be presented with a plurality of pre-defined templates for acircular. By selecting one of the pre-defined templates, the user willbe able to save much time in designing a custom circular. It isunderstood and acknowledged, however, that the present invention mayalso be designed to permit a user to have even greater flexibility bypresenting a template that provides a user with greater flexibility interms of overall layout and design.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention includes a database oftemplates, which database can be readily accessed and regularly updated.The database may be organized such that each template is allocated arecord. Of course, the present invention contemplates that many otherknown means of organizing data and databases may be used to maintain aplurality of templates for purposes of this invention.

Once a template is chosen, the user is provided with an opportunity tocustomize the template. In the case where a template involves multiplepages, the user may be provided with an opportunity to select a page ofthe template to design and/or edit. In either event, the user may beginto customize the advertisement.

In a preferred embodiment, the user may be presented with options toinclude pre-defined product ads as well as new product ads that the usermay create. A pre-defined product ad is one that was created previouslyand saved into memory (e.g., stored into a database or otherwise on acomputer memory). An advantage of using pre-defined product ads is thatthe business or corporation may provide these as suggestions of, orrequirements for, products to be offered for a particular ad and/orselling season. This provides the user with a desired base of productsto consider, which further reduces the time to customize an ad.Alternatively, the pre-defined product ad may be saved as part of atemplate, in which case the next time a template is used, it may bedefined to include the pre-defined product ad. Preferably, templatesinclude additional areas that permit new products to be advertised. FIG.1 illustrates a template that includes pre-defined advertisements, aswell as providing blocks where custom product ads may be placed. One wayof readily identifying areas where new product ads may be placed is bycoloring an area of the template with a color. That way, a user readilysees a blank portion on the template and may “import” (or otherwise addby way of an editor) a new product ad.

In one embodiment, a template may include a predetermined window thatpermits a user to specify an expiration date for an advertisement, oreven a range of effective dates for the advertisement. For example, theuser may be presented with a menu to enter two dates “D1” and “D2”, andthe menu may automatically add text to the template that provides thatthe advertisement is good from D1 through D2.

Preferably, each template includes areas wherein a user may add customtext. Custom text may describe a particular product or refer to theoverall advertisement (e.g., “Special Sale,” 25 “We Install” or “Weappreciate your business.”). A user friendly way of designing thisfeature is to provide an area on the template wherein text and/or imagesmay be added simply by clicking on the area and pasting or inputting thetext and/or images. Optionally, a menu may be used to enter custom textand/or images into an area on a template. For purposes of this document,areas wherein custom text and/or images may be placed shall be referredto as “advertisement areas” or, more simply, “ad areas.” The ad area maybe configured to be a square, a rectangle, a circle, or other geometricshape. Color may also be used to designate the physical limits of an adarea. An ad area may also be comprised of multiple boxes. For example,an ad area may have one box for an image file, one box for text, and onebox for a price. (The use of the term “box” is not intended to belimited to any particular geometric shape.)

In a preferred embodiment, the template may include multiple ad areas,and the ad areas may be different shapes and/or sizes. Each of themultiple ad areas may be the same or a different color. Each of themultiple ad areas, preferably, may be easily modified in terms ofplacement on the template, as well as in terms of physical size. Theability to adjust the placement and/or the size of each ad area willfacilitate the design process.

An ad area may be customized, for example, to emphasize a theme, such asIndependence Day Sale, Memorial Day Sale, or even, Congratulations tothe Local Graduating Class. When used for developing a theme, the adarea may be used to hold a graphic image (such as fireworks, flags, or agraduation cap) and/or text directed to the theme. Once a theme isdeveloped, a user may chose to save the theme template as a customtemplate for future use.

An ad area on a template may be configured to receive one or moreproduct references, thereby permitting a user to customize a template inthe process of creating an advertisement. A user may customize atemplate by adding one or more product references to the template. Aproduct reference may include images of a product to be advertisedand/or custom text that describes one or more aspects of the product(e.g., price, size, weight, specifications, etc.). A product referencemay include other information relating to the product, for example, SKUnumbers, barcodes, trademarks, logos, etc. For purposes of thisdocument, information concerning a product to be advertised such as, forexample, one or more of text blocks which may include pricinginformation, pictures, characters, images, designs, sketches, colors,manufacturer logos, shall be referred to individually and collectivelyas a product reference. The overall appearance of the desiredinformation (i.e. collection of chosen product references) for aparticular product or products may also be referred to as productpresentation.

Business rules may also be defined for, and applied to, each template tocontrol customization aspects based upon manufacturer relationships ortheir contributions to the cost of the ad. Also, product ad areas may belocked, or may be bounded, by a variety of criteria, includingmanufacturer, brand, category, product, price, etc.

In a preferred embodiment, the system and the method of the presentinvention may provide the user with assistance in setting the price fora product to be advertised. For example, the present invention mayprovide the user with historical pricing information for the productbeing advertised (for example, a 50 foot long roll of masking tape),and/or pricing information on products within a particular category (forexample, all rolls of masking tape). This feature will help to minimizethe occurrence of pricing errors, which will help to minimize damage togood will associated with such errors. The pricing information providedby the pricing assistance program may include, lowest sale price,highest regular price, average sale price, competitor's sale pricing,etc.

It is contemplated that a user may desire to choose among multipleproduct references for the identical product. For example, a user mayselect a first product reference that includes an image of “Product A”and text describing Product A. Alternatively, a user may select a secondproduct reference that comprises only text describing Product A.Alternatively, a user may select a third product reference thatcomprises only an image of Product A. In addition, the user may select afourth product reference, which is similar in all respects to the firstproduct reference, but which has a different layout of the imagerelative to the text. For example, the image may be larger in oneproduct reference, and the price may be in a larger font or type sizefor emphasis.

The option to choose between the first product reference and the fourthproduct reference will permit a user to design an advertisement withconsistency from product ad to product ad, or to choose layout varietyfrom product ad to product ad. In a preferred embodiment, the user willhave multiple product references for each given product, whichreferences vary in both content as well as layout.

When designing an advertisement, a user may have the option of addingone or more product references to the template. Preferably, the user ispresented with a plurality of product references from which to choose.The presentation of the product references on a computer screen mayinclude an image of a particular product and/or text that describes oneor more aspects of the product. Often, a user may have thousands ofproducts that it may be interested in advertising. In such a case, it ispreferable that the product references be organized by at least onemethodology, and more preferably, by multiple methodologies. Forexample, product references may organized generally by generic categorydescriptions (say, “Books,” “Magazines,” “Clothing,” “Gifts,”“Hardware,” etc.) It may be preferred that the generic categories havesubcategories as well. For example a generic category such as “clothing”may be further categorized into “boots,” “hats,” “jewelry,” “shirts,”etc. Another methodology for organizing product references is byindividual vendors who supply products. By clicking on one of the twowindows, the user is provided with a pull-down menu of categories orvendors, and by selecting one of the provided references, the user isfurther provided with a portion or all of the product references thatare associated with the user's prior selections (e.g., all of the hats,some of the shoes, etc.). Some examples of common search/pull downcriteria are Manufacturer, Category, and Brand, but other, custom searchcriteria may be defined and used.

The system maintains in a memory storage device a list of productreferences. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention includes adatabase of product references, which database can be readily accessedand regularly updated. The database may be organized such that eachproduct reference is allocated a record, which includes an image (or areference marker that associates an image with the product), and text(or other information) that describes one or more features of theproduct (for example, title, price, weight, etc.). Of course, thepresent invention contemplates that many other known means of organizingdata and databases may be used to maintain a plurality of productreferences for purposes of this invention.

The present invention may also utilize multiple databases of productreferences. This is especially useful when the user is a local office ofa national chain. For example, the present invention may use onedatabase of product references for products that are advertisednationally, and a second database of product references for productsthat are advertised locally. This will permit a user to participate in anational advertisement campaign, and yet permit the user to add productsthat are important to a local clientele.

In one embodiment, the user may be provided with the option of using alogo or trademark of a manufacturer for a particular product. This willpermit potential users to readily identify the manufacturer of a productthat is being advertised. In another embodiment, the optional logoand/or trademark may be included as part of a product reference, and mayeven be stored in a database of product references, with referencemarkers associating the logo with the appropriate products. Someavailable co-op funds may require that a logo be present for submission,payment, and/or collection.

The present invention also provides the user with the ability to inputnew product references. In a preferred embodiment the present inventionwould include a image capture device (such as a digital camera orscanner) which would permit the user to input an image of the product tobe advertised. The new product reference optionally would include customtext that describes one or more aspects of the product. Preferably, thesystem would update its plurality of product references (e.g., byupdating its database of product references) to include the new productreference and make it available for the user to select and add to atemplate.

In a preferred embodiment, the ad area on a template is configured towork with a product reference. For example, the product reference may bestored as an image file. If the image file is a fixed image of2″.times.2″, then ad areas may be configured to accept images of thesame size, namely, 2″.times.2″.

More preferably, the ad area on a template is adjustable such that thead area may be adjusted in size in such a fashion that the productreference is automatically formatted and adjusted in size to fit theresized ad area. In this embodiment the invention takes the dimensionsof an ad area (which may be pre-defined, or which may be measureddynamically) and then scales an image file (which image file may includetext and/or photographs) of a product reference to fit the dimensions ofthe ad area. Of course, one skilled in the art will appreciate that thisfeature may be designed to operate in other fashions. Such an automaticresizing feature has the unexpected advantage of permitting thememory-stored product references to be automatically and dynamicallyadjusted without having to occupy additional memory space. Moreover,this feature has the surprising advantage of providing a user with greatflexibility in designing a custom advertisement. This feature also hasthe additional advantage that product images may be stored in anydimension (and, in fact, may be stored at varying image dimensions).

An example will readily demonstrate the flexibility of an automaticresizing feature. A user designs a template to include five ad areas,each of which is of a different size. The user utilizes a singledatabase of product references and places a different product referencein each of the five ad areas. Without any additional effort on behalf ofthe user, each of the five product references is adjusted in size to fitwithin each of the five user-defined ad areas. Moreover, because of theautomatic resizing feature, a user could rearrange the productreferences on the same template, and the product references would beautomatically resized and reformatted to fit within its new ad areas.This feature permits quick and easy revisions to the layout of anadvertisement.

The automatic resizing feature also has the unexpected advantage that itcan readily accommodate new product references. If for example, increating a new product reference, the scanner scans a photograph of aproduct that is 4″.times.6″, the new product reference can incorporatethe entire image file. When the product reference is ready to be addedto an advertisement, the system and method of the present invention mayautomatically adjust the size of the original image file (in this case,4″.times.6″) to fit within the dimensions of the particular ad area inthe designated template.

It is envisioned that the automatic resizing feature may operate on allformats of product references. For example, where the product referenceis comprised entirely of text and stored in an ASCII format, theautomatic resizing feature may adjust the font, type size and/or thelayout of the text to fit into a predetermined ad area. Also, where theproduct reference is comprised entirely of an image and stored in animage format, the automatic resizing feature may adjust the size of theimage to fit into a predetermined ad area. It is also envisioned thatthe automatic resizing feature may also make any other necessaryconversions to accommodate a product reference. For example, if apre-determined ad area is formatted to receive only an image file, andthe selected product reference is stored as text, the automatic resizingfeature may be expected to convert the text into a desired size suchthat the product reference may be placed upon the particular ad area.

In the case where an ad area is comprised of multiple boxes, the usermay be presented with an opportunity to input a sale price for aparticular item. The user may be presented with a “price window” whichis specifically reserved for pricing information, or the user may bepresented with a custom text window, wherein the user may enter pricinginformation as part of the custom text. If the ad area includes a boxfor an image file, the user may be presented with an opportunity toinput an image file (for example, from the product reference database).

In a preferred embodiment, the user is provided with an opportunity topreview the advertisement as it will look when printed. One way toprovide this opportunity is with a “preview” button which upon clickingwill automatically display or print an image that looks very much likethe final advertisement as it should be printed. The system may alsoelectronically display a proof to be accepted before printing an ad. Aproof may also be available in the “Archives” section of the programafter publishing the ad prior to printing.

In a preferred embodiment, the system and the method of the presentinvention may provide the user with assistance in designing the layoutof an advertisement. For example, the present invention may provide theuser with an opportunity to identify one or more priorities that thepresent invention may use in advising the user on a preferred layout.Sample priorities may include the following: maximum size of productimage; maximum number of advertised products per page; minimumseparation between product references; maximum font or type size;minimum font or type size; predetermined number of product referencesper page; grouping by manufacturer; and grouping by product category.For purposes of this document, this feature shall be referred to aspriority-based layout assistance. The priority-based layout assistancemay be utilized on a template that has already been designed by theuser, in which case the assistance program may be used to optimize thelayout.

In another preferred embodiment, the user may submit a template and alist of product references to be automatically laid-out by thepriority-based layout assistance program. It is contemplated that a usermay reset priorities and then preview the results based on the new listof priorities. The priority-based layout assistance will work especiallywell when each product being advertised has multiple product referencesfrom which the assistance program may choose. For example, if a toppriority is maximum product image size, the assistance program maylayout the initial draft advertisement using those product referenceswith the largest images. This means that the product references mayinclude information describing the differences between the variousproduct references for each product. For example, the database ofproduct references may be designed to hold up to 10 product referencesfor each product, whereby the product references are organized fromlargest product image to smallest product image. In any case, thepriority-based layout assistance may provide better refinement incircumstances when there are multiple product references for each of theproducts being advertised.

When the advertisement has been designed (i.e., when the template hasbeen designed and edited to include all of the products and informationthat the user decided to include), the user may review the preview asdisplayed by the computer or the present invention may generate ahard-copy preview or printer's proof for the user to review. How andwhere the proof is generated depends upon the advertising format that isbeing used. For example, for a black and white advertisement, the proofmay be generated at a printer operated by the user (on the premises ofthe user). If a multi-colored glossy circular is desired, the proof maybe generated by a professional printer that is located remotely relativeto the user. To generate a preview, the present invention may transmitelectronically the advertisement to a commercial printer, who mayprocess and create an electronic preview or print a hard-copy proof ofthe final advertisement.

A user may review the preview to confirm that the draft advertisement ascreated using the present invention is acceptable in terms of content,design, quality, etc. If the user approves of the preview, the finaladvertisements may be printed, and preferably, in accordance with anyprinting specification that may have been provided by the user and/orgenerated by the program. In addition, the invention may offer the useran automatic checking feature of prices, quantities, inventoryavailability (e.g. in store availability or availability fromdistributor or manufacturer facilities) or other options (e.g. size,color, composition) against preset or predetermined parameters.

It is contemplated that the present invention may be implemented in amanner that provides an account for a user to access, and further thatthe account provides access to a memory storage device where the usermay store data and other information relevant and/or unique to the user.For example, a host computer that may be accessed through an Internetconnection may store product references, templates, and other custominformation for a user, such that when a user logs into its account, theinformation is readily available. This approach will also permit certainadditional convenience features. For example, a user's files, data,orders, and other information may be automatically saved for the benefitof the user. Further, saving can be set up to occur automatically atperiodic intervals, as well as automatically upon the termination of anaccount session (e.g., upon log-off). The user may also be presentedupon a subsequent login, the option of editing a prior session'sadvertisement or creating a new advertisement. Automatic saving featureshave the advantage of significantly reducing the risk of lost data,which consequently helps to reduce the time associated with creatingsubsequent advertisements.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the methods and systems mayprovide delivery options. For example, a user may chose from a pluralityof delivery options that include a) a direct mailing to potential userswhose names and addresses are provided by the user, b) a direct shippingto a newspaper publisher, and c) a direct shipping to the user at one ormultiple locations. When a direct mailing is selected, the user maypreferably provide a data file of names and addresses of persons whowill receive hard copies or electronic direct mailings. The data filemay be provided, for example, via the Internet or a storage media (e.g.hard drives, zip disks, CDs, diskettes).

In one embodiment of the present invention, the methods and systems mayprovide print schedules. Print schedules permit a user to plan thelogistics of meeting a particular advertising goal. For example, a printschedule may include two dates: 1) a distribution date—which is the dateby which a user may wish to have its advertisements distributed; and 2)a publication deadline—which is a date by which the proposedadvertisement should be completed in order to meet the distributiondate. These dates are typically set by the program administrator basedupon the requirements of the user's business and the schedules of thecommercial printers that the user will be using in the printing process.In another embodiment these dates may also be set by a user.

In one embodiment, a user may be presented with a plurality of schedulesfrom which the user may choose. In another embodiment, the user mayinput a distribution date, and the present invention may calculate thepublication date based upon a pre-determined formula (for example, aparticular printer requires two weeks notice to print a job).

In another preferred embodiment, the user may submit a template and alist of product references to be automatically laid-out using thepre-defined template and the order of the list of product references. Itis contemplated, as well, that a user may define a set of priorities andgenerate a draft advertisement based on the list of priorities. Thepriority-based layout assistance will work especially well when eachproduct being advertised has multiple product references from which theassistance program may choose. The advantage of this approach is thatthe user minimizes its demands on the network interface (e.g., a modemconnection). By transmitting the template information and the list ofproduct references, the user avoids having to deal with multiple, largeimage files, and thus, a significant time savings may be realized.Moreover, the system and method of the present invention contemplatesthat the host computer may compile a draft advertisement using thetemplate information and the list of product references, which draftadvertisement may be transmitted directly from the host computer tocommercial printers. In this fashion, the bandwidth demands of theuser's network interface are lessened, resulting in a savings on thedevelopment time and increased reliability.

Once the ad is created, approved, and submitted for publication, animportant subsequent step is to obtain reimbursement for the ad expense.It will be appreciated that reimbursement does not occur until a requestfor reimbursement, e.g., an invoice, is submitted. It will also beappreciated that, the sooner the bill is submitted, the sooner paymentcan generally be had. Therefore, it is preferred to generate a bill notlater than immediately after the ad has been approved and submitted. Thepresent invention therefore includes a co-op calculation feature whichgenerates invoices upon demand, or as programmed.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate the steps of the co-op calculation feature.This feature is preferably performed after step 316 of FIG. 3, that is,after the advertisement has been placed in final form, approved, andsubmitted for publication. However, it may be performed at an earlierstage, and updated as and/or if changes are made, and/or it may be usedto provide the user with real-time estimates of the cost of theadvertisement. Real-time estimates avoid the unpleasant situation wherethe user submits the advertisement and later realizes that theadvertisement costs more than is in the budget, or later realizes thatthe entire budget was not used and more and/or different advertisingcould have been ordered. In the first case, the user may have to absorbthe extra-budget costs, and in the second case the user may have toreturn unspent advertising dollars, neither of which is a desirableoutcome.

As shown, the user enters the advertising expenses, product information,advertising space, dealer information, surcharges, and other informationinto the system. The system then determines the total advertisingexpense, determines the space allotted to each product advertised,determines a portion of the total advertising expense for each productbased on the space used by the advertisement, and then applies a co-opamount (an upcharge or a surcharge) to arrive at the billed charge foreach advertisement. The space used by each product may be a percentageof the total space, or may be a percentage of the total space actuallyused by advertisements, or may be the area, e.g., in square inches, ofspace used by the advertisement, or some combination thereof. The co-opamount may be any desired amount, for example, 50%. It will beappreciated that the co-op amount need not be applied only at the end ofthe calculations, but may be applied at an earlier stage or to specificitems, such as to the advertising expenses, the area used, and/or acombination thereof, and may be modified if and when desired.

The co-op calculation feature also allows the user to enter otherinformation into the database, such as the dealer, region or area fromwhere the advertisement is being placed, the region or area to where theadvertisement is being targeted, which product(s) and/or manufacturer(s)are being advertised, sales, times, dates and/or durations ofadvertising, demographic information such as buying habits, customerinformation, product preferences, zip codes, area codes, addresses, etc.Demographic information may be provided for each entry, individually, orfor a group of entries collectively. The information provided to, andgenerated by, the co-op calculation feature may be used to generate oneor more of a variety of reports, which can be customized for the userand even for each client. The reports generated may include, forexample, a general report of all products advertised in any givenadvertisement, and/or in any given publication, and/or individualreports for each product. This information can also be used by the co-opcalculation feature to provide an advertising tracking tool whichgenerates a variety of reports. The reports generated may include, forexample, a general report of all products advertised in any given ad,individual reports for each product, advertising activity by dealer,region or at large, which products or manufacturers are beingadvertised, sales vs. advertising expenditures, a comparison of annualadvertising productivity, and/or reports tracking other desired cycles,trends, and facts, tracking of available co-op funds with automaticdeduction of funds based on the co-op reimbursement requested, etc.Again, this allows for reports in the format and/or with the informationdemanded by the client for reimbursement. This allows the user toquickly and conveniently generate the report(s) needed by the userand/or demanded by the client, and which can be customized for the userand/or the client. The co-op calculation feature thus provides forinstant and convenient reporting and tracking of advertisinginformation. The report selection and generation capability allows usersto more quickly calculate co-op requests, to more quickly submit co-oprequests to clients, such as manufacturers, wholesale and retail stores,and service providers, and, hopefully, to more quickly receivereimbursement. This also allows the user to review the revenue generatedfrom each client or product (“product” including services provided), theexpenses incurred for each client or product, the net income for eachclient or product, and the type and number of ads for each client orproduct, so that the user can determine which clients and/or products ortypes of clients and/or products the user should most vigorously pursuein order to maximum the user's revenue.

Preferably, but not necessarily, the database is a standard, formatteddatabase which is used by or uploaded for each user, such as customer. Astandard database allows the user to easily manage the database and/orbatch process data into the database; the user can also add, delete, ormodify entries in the database, including, but not limited to, thedemographic information. In an alternative embodiment, the database is astandard, formatted database having entries therein for use by the user.For example, the database may be a compilation of names, addresses,telephone numbers, status as a registered voter, status as theregistered owner of a lot and/or building, distance to nearest school,state and/or federal congressional and senatorial district, etc. In thisalternative database, management of the information by one clientpreferably does not alter the database, but merely annotates thedatabase to indicate the change and the client making the change so thata client only is affected by the changes that were made by itself.

In addition to the reports mentioned above, the database can also besorted by the demographic information to generate a target list. Thistarget list may then be sent along with an advertisement which is sentto a printing company. The printing company can then use the list to,for example, produce labels for direct mailing of the advertisement, orto insert one advertisement for a publication which will be distributedto a particular demographic group, and a different advertisement for apublication which will be distributed to another particular demographicgroup, which may or may not include members of the first demographicgroup. The target list may also be sent separately from, sent as anattachment to, and/or embedded within the advertisement. The target listmay also be downloaded to or by the user so that the target list may beformatted by the user for printing labels on a local or remote printer.

The database may also be downloaded by the user at any time for otherpurposes, such as consolidation of information into the user'smanagement system, backup, off-line review, etc.

The database may also, if desired, be partitioned into segments, withdifferent users having different or no access rights to specifiedsegments. Use of authorized user names, passwords, and other securitymeasures to control access to information stored on a computer databaseare well known and need not be belabored here.

Turn now to FIG. 9, which illustrates the process of customizing anadvertisement. This is preferably performed as part of one of steps302-314, but may be performed during any one or more of these steps.When the user selects the advertising format, or the template, or theproduct reference, the user may customize the advertisement by insertingitems such as images, text, logos, etc. These items may also be in adatabase, or may be imported from another program, or may be created bythe user at that time. Preferably, all items have a transparentbackground unless they are a lifestyle image or a square cut and have animage that encompasses the allowable area. This allows an item with atransparent background to be placed over an item for another product butthe product will not be completely hidden. For example, a store name anda price may be in red, on a transparent background, and placed over aproduct reference showing a yellow shirt or towel. This allows the userto place images anywhere on a page, with the colored background of thead surrounding the image, so that the user is no longer constrained toplace an image into a white box. This allows the information to bedisplayed along with the product without requiring that the productspace be reduced to make space for the information, and without thebackground of the information obscuring the product. This improves theaesthetics of the advertisements and allows for a more finishedappearance, i.e., a more retail look. The system also allows the user tooverlap ad elements, to create layers, and to dynamically direct theplacement of ad elements anywhere in the ad.

Other embodiments and uses of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practiceof the invention disclosed herein. All references cited herein,including all U.S. and foreign patents and patent applications, arespecifically and entirely hereby incorporated herein by reference. It isintended that the specification and examples be considered exemplaryonly, with the true scope and spirit of the invention indicated by theclaims below. As will be easily understood by those of ordinary skill inthe art, variations and modifications of each of the disclosedembodiments can be easily made within the scope of this invention asdefined by the claims below.

1. A system automatically determine charges related to an advertisementfor a product that is inserted into an advertising space, comprising: acentral processing unit; an input device in communication with theprocessing unit; a display unit in communication with the processingunit; and software executing on the processing unit, wherein thesoftware: receives expenses for an advertising space; determines theadvertising space allotted to the product; determines a portion of theadvertising expenses to be allotted to the product based upon theadvertising space allotted to the product; determines a charge for theproduct by applying a surcharge to at least one of the advertisingexpenses, the advertising space allotted to the product, and the portionof the advertising expenses to be allotted to the product; receives aselection of at least one report relating to the product and the charge;generates the selected at least one report; and outputs the selected atleast one report.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least onereport comprises at least one of an individual report for each productwhich is advertised, or a general report of all products advertised inthe advertising space.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein the surcharge isa predetermined surcharge.
 4. The system of claim 1 wherein thesurcharge is entered by a user.
 5. The system of claim 1 wherein theportion of the advertising expenses to be allotted to the product isautomatically determined based upon the ratio of the advertising spaceallotted to the product to the advertising space associated with theadvertising expenses.
 6. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least onereport comprises at least one of advertising activity by dealer,advertising activity by area, advertising activity by region,advertising activity at large, sales with respect to advertisingexpenses, and annual advertising productivity.
 7. The system of claim 1wherein the report is one of outputted to a printer, outputted to thedisplay unit, sent via e-mail, and saved as an electronic file.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising a local terminal in communicationwith and remote from the central processing unit, the local terminalincluding the input device and the display unit.
 9. The system of claim8, wherein the local terminal and the central processing unitcommunicate via a wide area network.
 10. A system to controldistribution of an advertisement, comprising: a central processing unit;an input device in communication with the processing unit; a displayunit in communication with the processing unit; a database incommunication with the central processing unit; and software executingon the processing unit, wherein the software: accesses the database;manages the database; identifies a target list of potential customersfrom the database; lists one or more products associated with the targetlist of potential customers for selection; receives selection of the oneor more products; and outputs the target list and the advertisement forthe one or more products.
 11. The system of claim 10 wherein thesoftware lists multiple products.
 12. The system of claim 10 wherein thethe software sorts entries in the database based upon a predetermined oruser entered characteristic.
 13. The system of claim 10 wherein thesoftware allows a user to create, modify, or delete an entry in thedatabase.
 14. The system of claim 10 wherein the software allows a userto create, modify, or delete demographic information of an entry in thedatabase.
 15. The system of claim 10 wherein the database storespredetermined demographic information.
 16. The system of claim 10wherein the target list and the advertisement are at least one ofoutputted to a printer, outputted to the display unit, sent via e-mail,and saved as an electronic file.
 17. The system of claim 10 wherein thetarget list and the advertisement are sent to a printing device at adistribution point.
 18. The system of claim 10, further comprising alocal terminal in communication with and remote from the centralprocessing unit, the local terminal including the input device and thedisplay unit.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the local terminal andthe central processing unit communicate via a wide area network.
 20. Asystem creating or modifying an advertisement for at least one productcomprising: a central processing unit; an input device in communicationwith the processing unit; a display unit in communication with theprocessing unit; at least one database in communication with the centralprocessing unit; and software executing on the processing unit, whereinthe software: receives a selection of at least one of an advertisementfrom the database or a new advertisement; receives a selection of atleast one of a size, color, design, type, format, template, layout,shape, or placement of the advertisement; receives a selection of atleast one item from the database or a new item, the item having abackground; and receives a selection of the placement of the item on theadvertisement.
 21. The system of claim 20 wherein a first item is placedon the advertisement, and wherein the software: at least one of receivesa selection of a second item from the database creates a second item,the second item having a transparent background; receives a selection ofplacement of the second item on the advertisement such that at leastpart of the background of the second item overlaps at least part of thefirst item.
 22. The system of claim 20, wherein the background of theitem is transparent.
 23. The system of claim 20, wherein the softwareobtains historical pricing information of the at least one product. 24.The system of claim 23, wherein historical pricing information includesone or more of lowest sale price, highest regular price, average saleprice, and competitor's sale price.
 25. The system of claim 20, whereinthe software obtains pricing information on the at least one product oron products within a category.
 26. The system of claim 20, wherein thesoftware receives a selection of advertisement logos or trademarks forthe at least one product.
 27. The system of claim 20, wherein thesoftware automatically formats the advertisement to a predeterminedsize.
 28. The system of claim 20, wherein the software obtains productreference information for the at least one product.
 29. The system ofclaim 28, wherein product reference information comprises one or more ofinformation on price, size, weight, or specification, stock keeping unit(SKU) or universal product code (UPC) number, color option, referencenumber, manufacturer identification, barcode, manufacturer trademark orlogo, pictures, characters, images, designs, or sketches.
 30. The systemof claim 20, wherein the software outputs a preview of theadvertisement.
 31. The system of claim 20, wherein the softwareautomatically checks for errors.
 32. The system of claim 31, wherein theautomatic checking comprises one or more of price checking, quantitychecking, determining availability from inventory, from a distributor,or from a manufacturer, determining availability of product size, coloror composition, or a combination thereof.
 33. The system of claim 20,wherein the software provides publication date information of theadvertisement.
 34. The system of claim 20, wherein the item is selectedfrom the group consisting of a headings, text, images, logos,trademarks, prices, sizes, weights, specifications, SKU numbers, UPCnumbers, colors, reference numbers, manufacturer identifications,barcodes, manufacturer trademarks, pictures, characters, designs,sketches, lowest prices, highest prices, sale prices, regular prices,average sale prices, competitor pricing, and images or text of productsizes, product colors and product compositions.
 35. The system of claim20, wherein the software customizes the advertisement by inserting atleast one of images and text.
 36. The system of claim 20, wherein theadvertisement is for publication.
 37. The system of claim 20, whereinthe the software: receives a selection, for placement on theadvertisement, of an additional advertisement for an additional productfrom a database of products or creates an advertisement for anadditional product, the additional advertisement having a transparentbackground; receives a selection of placement of the additionaladvertisement on the advertisement such that at least part of thetransparent background of the additional advertisement overlaps at leastpart of the advertisement of the at least one product.
 38. The system ofclaim 20, wherein at least one item has a square cut background or alifestyle image.
 39. The system of claim 20, further comprising a localterminal in communication with and remote from the central processingunit, the local terminal including the input device and the displayunit.
 40. A system for creating or modifying an advertisement for one ormore products, comprising: a central processing unit; an input device incommunication with the processing unit; a display unit in communicationwith the processing unit; at least one database in communication withthe central processing unit; and software executing on the processingunit, wherein the software: receives a selection of a first productadvertisement from a database or a newly created first productadvertisement; receives a selection of product reference informationwherein the product reference information comprises one or more ofprice, size, weight, specification, SKU or UPC number, color, referencenumber, manufacturer identification, or barcode, or one or more ofmanufacturer trademarks and logos, or pictures, characters, images,designs, or sketches of the one or more products; receives a selectionof placement of the product reference information on the advertisement;checks for errors wherein the checking comprises one or more of pricechecking, quantity checking, determining availability from inventory, adistributor, or a manufacturer, or determining availability of productsize, color or composition; formats the first product advertisement tothe advertisement; and provides a preview of the advertisement.
 41. Thesystem of claim 40, wherein the software obtains historical pricinginformation, wherein the historical pricing information comprises one ormore of lowest sale price, highest regular price, average sale price, ora competitor sale price of the one or more products.
 42. The system ofclaim 40, wherein the software receives a selection of one or moreadditional product advertisements from the database or one or moreadditional newly created product advertisements.
 43. The system of claim39, wherein the local terminal and the central processing unitcommunicate via a wide area network.
 44. The system of claim 40, furthercomprising a local terminal in communication with and remote from thecentral processing unit, the local terminal including the input deviceand the display unit.
 45. The system of claim 44, wherein the localterminal and the central processing unit communicate via a wide areanetwork.